Does crypto mining cause global warming? This question has lingered since the introduction of cryptocurrencies in 2009. Though it’s gotten ignored by a larger population and deemed complex, the impact has been and will continue to the felt in the future, and not for the right reasons. The amount of energy required for powering the computer network behind Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is astronomical, and probably not something they foresaw. What’s more, it’s only getting worse.

One cannot deny the vision behind cryptocurrencies is admirable- a decentralized, anonymous and secure currency not affected by world economies. This novel idea of creating a currency that does not require the government or banks to process payments has been deemed transformative technology that entire economies can build on. Whole countries would transact differently; picture unfiled taxes Canada citizens could declare in bitcoin.

The cause for alarm for bitcoin and other like it is that it couldn’t have come at a worse time. The climate change conversation has been there for decades and its impacts undeniable. Without pronouncing doom on the planet, the world is behind in mitigating climate change. Anything with a large carbon footprint is accelerating global warming.

The growth of these virtual currencies has made the process known as crypto mining more complex. This process is the ‘mining’ of more coins while controlling the currency supply. The higher the difficulty, the higher the energy required to mine. The statistics attest to this. Transacting one bitcoin requires the same amount of energy necessary to power nine homes in the US in a day. According to Blockchain Luxembourg, 4th January 2018 was the highest recorded number of transactions of 425, 008 bitcoin transactions.

Take a minute to allow that to sink in.

What’s more, the technology used by miners is continually evolving. At the moment, the world’s top 500 fastest supercomputers combined require less power. The computing power of the bitcoin network is currently 100, 000 times larger. Of the 195 countries in the world, 150 of them consume less energy annually than what bitcoin use in the same duration.

A majority of nations cannot provide the energy required to power the crypto economy. It is estimated that by in 2020, it will need more energy than the world uses. With a slow shift to renewable energy from fossil fuels, dirty technologies will have to be used to power this great need to keep the economy running. It is however untenable- it is not sustainable.

A concern among those promoting green energy is that companies are moving to places with cheap energy sources to mitigate costs. Cheap has always meant dirty fuel. As the value increases, this now mostly investment option has not brought about the public benefit it sort to bring from the beginning. It appears to favor a few at that the cost of the planet. Should the crypto economy choose to select more sustainable energy sources then perhaps more people would be on board.